Vision shield



sept. 4, 1923 I 1,467.203 H. L. SMITH VISION SHIELD Filed Jan. 29. 1921 2 shets-shet 1 zijn l l|| l Il l 1..' .'ii LLM I sff l Arron/vir Sept.-4, 1923. 1,467.203

H. l.. SMITH VISION SHIELD Filed Jan. 29. 1921 $2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 4, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HENRY LUNI) SMITH, OF PATERSONI, NEW JERSEY.

` vIsIoN SHIELD.

Application led January 29, 1921. Serial No. 440,866.

' of this class in a copending application filed by me under the Serial Number/411,724, the salient feature of which consists in a plurality of translucent areas with a clearvision space between them, said areas being in that case afforded by members whose adjoining portions were offset, to wit, by the members being arranged in inclined planes and substantially parallel. In the present case one of my objects is to provide a shield that is simpler and less expensive than, if perhaps it does not afford quite as broad scope of clear visibility, as my former shield, and this I accomplish by arranging the translucent members all in the same plane, as b forming slits in a sheet or plate. Another object is to provide an improved means for supporting such a shield or equivalent device.

In the drawings,

Figure l is alrear elevation of one form of the improved shield and its supporting means, the latter being shown attached to a vehicle wind-shield;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of what-is shown in Figure l; y

Figure 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3, Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows another form of the shield in front elevation;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5 5, Figure 4; and

Figures 6 and 7 show blanks which go to form the supporting means.

The shield is formed as shown in Figures 1 and 2 from a plate or sheet a composed of material that is capable of transmitting light rays without permitting objects to be seen distinctly therethrough, or translucent, such as ground or frosted or suitably colored glass, or, preferably, Celluloid or equivalent infrangible substance. Transverse horizontal slits b are formed in the sheet or plate a to afford the clear-vision areas, leaving translucent vanes or members a between them. v

As shown in Figures 4 and 5 the shield is formed of a sheet c of similar, that is to say, translucent material, being also provided with horizontal clear-vision areas d. But` in this case in order to increase the range of clear vision through any one clear-v1s1on area the material of the sheet adjacent eachV such area is beveled at a forward and downward incline, preferably vboth above and below said area. This is done by severing the sheet on horizontal lines nearly tothe lateral margins of the sheet, which will leave translucent vanes or members e, and also severing the sheet short distances from and at the ends of these lines of severing up 7 wardly as'to the alternate lines, as at and downwardly as to the remaining lines, as at g, and then bending the lower edge portion of each vane in one direction and the lother edge portion in the opposite direction and each at an incline to the plane of the sheet, see Figure 5. The front of the sheet is the face appearing in Figure 4 or to the left in Figure 5. 1

So far as the shield proper, already dei scribed, is concerned, it is not material how it is mounted. But I prefer to provide the following supporting means therefor: z' is a clamp having a suitable clamping device (such as a set screw j) and also having an angular projecting arm lc. A telescopic fixture is provided as follows, one member thereof being adapted to be ypi'voted on the arm Ic and the other having attached thereto the shield proper. The rst or stem member of the fixturev is formed from an elongated blank Zof sheet material having its one end forked and provided with laterally eX- tending projections m, the body of the blank being formed with pairs of opposite holes n and each projection with a hole o. The blank is folded on a longitudinal central line so as to bring the holes in each pair of holes n and also the holes o in registry with each other, and this produces the stem member marked p in Figures 1, 2 and 3. Studs g ing holes v in the ears and pairs of longitudinal slots w: see Figure 6. This blank 1s folded on a longitudinal central line into channeled form so that the slots w in each pair register with each other, the ears t being bent outwardly and so as to stand in the same plane (Figure Rivets a passed through the holes of the ears t and the shield secure the latter to the member s. Member s forms a sheath for the stem member p the projecting ends of whose studs r are made to occupy the slots w. The shield carrying member is then adjustable on the stem member, longitudinally, to the limits of play ofthe studs in the slots. The telescopio .fixture carrying the shield is attached to the arm c. of clamp i by having its upper end, which is in effect forked, arranged to receive said arm, a screw bolt 1/ being passed through the holes oI and a hole in the arm and having a nut e and between its head a and the forked head of the telescopic fixture a spring 2 so that an adjustable clamping pressure is exerted on the arm la. The reduced end-portion u of the shield carrying member affords a handle whereby it may be adjusted on the stem member p or the entire fixture may be pivotally adjusted on the screw bolt y to any desired angle. A windshield of an automobile, to which the clamp z' is attached, is indicated at 3.

In either form of shield proper the glare of an approaching light is reduced by the translucent -areas and yet the driver has a clear vision of the road through the clearvision areas. The slits may be quite narrow and yet the shield affords a very sensibly better view ahead than if its whole field were translucent, because of the shifting of the shield and the drivers eyes relatively to each other due to the vehicles motion over the road; but I prefer to increase the range of vision more or less close to and ahead of the vehicle, forwhich purpose the shield shown in Figure 4 is better than that shown in Figure l.

A quite important element of my present invention is the portion of the shield which I have marked et and which embraces a translucent field uninterrupted by clearvision areas and having an area approximating at least the combined area of two or more of the adjoining translucent and clear-vision portions formed by the parts a slitted field below it, which latter he makes i use of in glancing at the road more or less near and ahead of the vehicle from time to time Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters ljatent is 1. A vision shield including a plurality of translucent vanes having substantially flat surfaces arranged in substantially the same plane and having a clear-vision area intervening between them, one of the vanes also having a surface forming an angle with its first-named surface inclined forwardly and downwardly from the observers side of the shield. i

2. A vision shield including a plurality of translucentl vanes arranged in substantially the same plane and having a clear-vision space intervening between them, the portion of one vane adjoining the other being bent into a plane inclined forward and downward from the observers side of the shield.

3. A vision shield formed of a translucent plate having narrow elongated clear-vision openings therein.

4. A vision shield formed of a translucent plate having narrow elongated substantiall horizontal and parallel openings therein an extending across the plate short of the ends thereof, the material of the plate at one horizontal side of each opening being bent out of the plane of the plate whereby to form a clear-vision opening of greater width when viewed from one angle than when viewed from another.

5. A vision shield including two contiguous vision fields, one comprisingr alternating translucent and clear-vision areas and the other embodyin an area approximately as great as a plurzity of said translucent and clear-vision areas and bein uninterruptedly translucent throughout t e Whole of its said area.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HENRY LUND SMITH. 

